The key to planning and designing a riparian buffer is in understanding that the system is flexible. Different designs offer different benefits. Establish your objectives, focusing on the goals that are important to you. Goals can include better runoff and sediment control; slowing bank erosion; improving wildlife and fish habitat; producing biomass, forestry, or alternative crops; or eliminating point rows along a meandering stream.

Factors that you have to think about include constructing wetlands for tile outlets and keeping trees clear of tile lines. And when planning for tax incentives and cost-share, you have to follow their rules, so make sure that the appropriate agencies have signed off on your design.

Next, determine your resources. Think about options for cost-share and volunteer help in installing the riparian buffer. Many programs offer cost-share for installation, such as the Continuous Sign-Up of the Conservation Reserve Program, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, and local watershed projects (more than 100 in Iowa).

Help also is available from nonprofit groups. Pheasants Forever, Ducks Unlimited, Trees Forever, and other conservation-minded groups may be willing to help. Your local chapter of the Future Farmers of America, 4-H club, high school science class, or local service groups (e.g., Lions or Rotary) may offer their help.

Once you have assembled your resources and objectives, then take a look at outlining your buffer. First, you need to understand the benefits offered by each zone of the riparian buffer: trees, shrubs, and grasses. Good riparian buffer design incorporates each of these components, allowing the benefits to complement each other in a natural system.

A minimum grass zone of 20-24 feet provides deep pores for water to soak into the soil, moderates flooding, and sends water into the soil instead of over it. Species in the grass zone include switchgrass, big bluestem, Indian grass, and forbs.

A minimum 12-foot zone of shrubs slows water down, dropping out sediments; absorbs nutrients; and provides food sources for wildlife. Tree species in the shrub zone include ninebark, red osier dogwood, chokecherry, gray dogwood, and nanking cherry.

Trees shade streams, absorb excess nutrients, stabilize stream banks, and provide homes for animals. A minimum of 30 feet is recommended, allowing for four to five rows. Trees recommended nearest the stream include willow, poplar, box elder, and silver maple. Trees recommended for the middle rows or on higher ground include sycamore, green ash, white ash, silver maple, basswood, and swamp white oak. Trees recommended for the last rows (upland species) include eastern red cedar, black ash, black walnut, red oak, hackberry, hickory, and eastern white pine.

Remember to use conservation professionals--county conservationist, district forester, and contractors. The more people you involve, the better your riparian buffer plan will serve your specific goals, while fitting into the overall conservation picture.

Once you have settled on a plan, have your resources lined up, and have your plan cleared with the appropriate agencies, you are ready to plan for the planting day. You may have to prepare the soil with a tillage pass or herbicide burndown before planting.

Plan for safety if you are using volunteer labor. Make sure everyone is trained to use equipment--such as a tree planter--and that they are trained in techniques for using tools. Also, take the time to instruct volunteers in the handling of plant materials.

Remember that a riparian buffer requires maintenance, just like any crop, to keep it healthy and competitive. Water and mow around or mulch trees and shrubs and burn grasses seasonally--at least a couple times in the first 3 years. You can use herbicides for spot control of weeds, but make sure they are approved for use near streams.

Other maintenance tips include keeping an evenly spread, shallow flow through the riparian buffer. Watch for settled soil at the edge of the grass zone, and remove it if it builds up too high. And plants are most effective in their uptake of excess nutrients when growing vigorously, so harvesting or cutting vegetation is good maintenance.

Putting a riparian buffer on your land can be a rewarding experience, but it takes lots of study and planning before you can get a project off the ground. But if you take the time to plan well, you will enjoy the benefits for many years to come.